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Danbury commission hears dog daycare plan for 55 Kenosha Ave.; decision tabled
Summary
Engineers told the Danbury Environmental Impact Commission on Aug. 28 that converting 55 Kenosha Ave. into a dog daycare would avoid wetlands loss, but commissioners sought soil testing, a waste-management plan and landscape cross-sections before acting and voted to table the application to Sept. 11, 2024.
The Danbury Environmental Impact Commission on Aug. 28 heard a proposal to convert a former office at 55 Kenosha Avenue into a franchised dog daycare and then voted to table the application so staff and members could review additional technical and operational details.
Dines Verbakis, a professional engineer with Artel Engineering Group, told the commission the parcel is about 1.6 acres and that the proposal would re-stripe the parking area to provide 29 spaces, locate fenced turf play areas behind the building and add a small trash enclosure. He said the turf would be laid on a stone base to allow liquids to percolate, and that the plan includes a rain-garden buffer between the outdoor play area and adjacent wetlands.
"There is absolutely no impact to wetlands. No loss of wetlands," Verbakis said, describing the rain garden and buffer area as measures to protect the wetland to the west.
Commissioners pressed several technical and operational questions. Members asked how stormwater and dog waste would be routed during heavy storms given the artificial turf and stone base; whether the turf functions as an effectively impervious surface in intense rainfall; and whether the site is hydraulically connected to the nearby wetland and brook. Verbakis said the rain garden was sized using guidance in the DEEP stormwater quality manual and that most runoff currently flows overland toward Kenosha Avenue, adding that the rain garden will receive some back-of-building flows. He also acknowledged the team had not performed soil infiltration testing and said he suspects the underlying soils include fill material.
A commissioner asked for a written manure- and waste-management plan to reduce the risk of leachate between trash pickups; Verbakis said dog waste would be bagged, placed in an indoor trash enclosure and removed daily, and he agreed to provide a formal management plan to staff and the commission.
Neil Marcus, an attorney representing the landlord, said the tenant operates a national franchise and provided an operational estimate: "average population about 75 dogs," which the team used to size parking for planning purposes.
Commissioners requested additional materials before taking action, including a landscape cross-section for the rain garden, infiltration/percolation testing for the turf system, and the written waste-management plan. The commission scheduled a site visit and voted to table Regulated Activity 122055 to its next regular meeting on Sept. 11, 2024.
What happens next: the applicant will submit the landscape drawings to the city planning and zoning department, provide the requested infiltration testing and an operational waste-management plan for staff review ahead of the commission's next meeting.
